When their pursuers saw that they would fight for their lives, they turned back: Their pursuers refers the troops that Trypho sent to kill the rest of Jonathan’s soldiers (verse 49). It is not clear whether they intended to kill only the 2,000 Jewish soldiers stationed in Galilee (verse 47), or whether they were after the whole army that went back to Judea. It is more natural to assume that only the 2,000 are involved. Trypho evidently did not have a large number of soldiers with him when he came south to deal with Jonathan (see the comments on verse 40). When Trypho’s men saw that these Jews were going to put up a fight, they simply turned around and went back. We may alter slightly Good News Bible‘s model for this verse by saying:

• When Trypho’s soldiers saw that the Jews were ready to fight for their lives, they turned around and went back.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.